Gentle Morning Hips

Welcome. I'm so glad you're here. This is a hip focus practice to hopefully offer some sweet relief for your hips. We'll work to strengthen, stretch, and stabilize the hips glutes and hamstrings. For this practice, it'll be nice to have a blanket and two blocks. And we'll begin on the floor in a baddha konasana, so you might bring a blanket underneath your sitting bones, and we'll ease into more of a yin style shape.

So bringing the feet slightly wider than your hips, a little far forward, and then just begin to ease your way forward and in. You might allow for an inhale. And then exhale soft in the face. You might choose to support the weight of your head. You might choose to surrender and release the weight of your head.

Just finding that appropriate edge of sensation for your body, meeting yourself where you are in the moment. Let's begin to notice the quality of the breath, breathing into where you feel it, and exhale softening the front body. We're just allowing gravity to assist. Opening the hips, stretching the back. You might feel a a warm wide dull achy stretch through the whole back body.

Just allowing your gaze, your internal awareness to pour in, re nourishing our inner resources. A few more breaths in this shape. You'd be noticing how the sensation changes with time, breath, and awareness. Notice the quality through your hands. When you feel ready, just slowly rounding up through your spine.

I'll be keeping your gaze soft and inward as you pause. And then bring your hands underneath your knees. Lean back. Bring your hands behind you. Bring your feet a little wider than your hips. And we'll find an easy seated windshield wiper side to side, finding that internal external rotation, and you might bring this move in movement up into your spine. Just let it feel really nice.

You more round side to side. Might coordinate with the breath. Nice. And then from here, we'll move into a mermaid shape. So bring the right leg forward the left leg back. So your right hip is an external rotation, and your left hip is an internal rotation.

So the sole of that right foot is touching the inner left thigh, bring that left heel behind you. Take a moment to pause as you lengthen your spine. Let's find a forward fold here. Nice and easy easing into the front right hip. You might inhale lengthen for a moment and then exhale curl and round.

Take your time coming up. Bring your right fingertips down and and how the left arm up. Just beginning to get into the side body here. Let it feel nice as you root and reach. Inhale back up, left fingertips down, inhale the right arm up. Find that nice length on the right side. We'll go side to side at your own pace over to the right and the left.

You might find a little bounce as you bend through the elbows. Notice if one side feels tighter than the other. One shoulder feels tighter. And see how you can lengthen and create space through the side body, lengthening out of the low back. Next time you're over to the right, we'll pause, bend your elbow and maybe find a deeper stretch over to the right.

Inhale back up, lift the right arm. And then you might play with coming onto your right forearm dipping down and pausing as you lengthen. Find a place where your neck feels good. Then inhale come back up onto that right hand, pause. As we transition, I like to bring my left hand onto the ankle. Keep the knee closed, lean back to the right.

I'm gonna just swing the legs over to the other side. Left leg forward, right leg back, organizing here, and then easing your way forward, feeling into the other hip, It might feel good to inhale lengthen your spine and then exhale round, releasing your head. Again, softening through the jaw. Notice the quality of your breath as there's more sensation arising. Taking your time slowly coming back up.

Reach the left arm down, inhale the right arm up, feeling the length through the side body, and then inhale, lift the left arm up, feel that length in space, and then side to side. You find a little bounce as you bend through the elbows. Can find ease through your neck. Few more rounds, now left arm reaches, and how right arm reaches side to side. And the next time is you come on to your left hand, bend the elbow and maybe a deeper stretch over.

Inhale back up lift the left arm one more time, maybe lower on to your left forearm. Reach the right arm up. Find a big beautiful stretch here through the side body. Find some ease in your neck. Come on to your left hand in house.

We back up. Again, right hand might come on to your ankle, keep the knee closed as you lean back and then free the legs. Nice work. From here, we'll transition into a tabletop position. Again, if you like padding under your knees, you might bring a blanket there. Let's tuck the toes under ease into our cat calf flow here. As you exhale, press the earth away round and stretch your back.

And then inhale lead with your heart feel the length in space or the collarbone, sitting bones, exhale, curl and round navel to spine. You might draw your hips back. Inhale lead with your heart few more rounds. I love this movement. Very warming for the body, hydrating for the spine. We're connecting with a flow of breath.

From here, you might begin to find some circles through your hips, untuck the toes, and this feel how you can move your hips in space, feeling into the side body, outer hips, nice and fluid here, and then over to the other side. Nice. Moving into a wide downward dog, spread the fingers wide, tuck your toes under, and lift up into your down dog, pedal out through your feet, feel the back of the neck lengthen. You might step your feet as wide as your mat, bend the knees, wiggle and reach your sitting bones up. Neck is long, head releasing. Feel how you can lift your thigh bones back and up. Feeling this wonderful extension through the spine.

Right here, we're in an inversion head lower than the heart. Other breath or two rooting through the hands. Feel the shoulders lift up and away. Beautiful walk the feet about hips width apart and just walk the hands and feet towards each other. Bend your knees, forward fold, Again, arms might dangle here and sway.

You might bring your hands onto your elbows, spreading the toes, maybe shifting the weight forward. As you're ready to release the hands, generous bend for your knees, chin into your chest, curl the tailbone will roll up slowly and mindfully through the spine. One vertebrae at a time, feeling the heart, feeling the shoulders, feeling the head, take a moment to pause. Allow for an inhale. Nice grounding breath down into the feet.

Ending our way towards the top of the mat, move into two half sun salutations moving with the breath, spreading the toes, hands together at the heart. Inhale reach the arms up. XL forward fold. Releasing the head and the arms. Inhale half arch length in your spine.

Exale generous bend in your knees, forward fold. Bend the knees and how sweep your arms up, gather and lengthen, drop the tailbone reach up. Exale hands together at the heart. Take a moment to pause, feeling the warmth, the energy, one more round, inhale, arm, sweep up. Exhale forward fold, releasing the head, the arms.

Inhale half arch lengthen, exhale bend the knees forward fold. Ground for the feet, bend the knees, inhale arms sweep up. Exhale hands together at the heart. Take a moment to pause and notice how you feel. From here, we'll grab our two blocks.

We'll step our feet wide on the mat, and then bring your blocks on the outer part of the heels. So they're wide behind you. Step your feet wide. We'll find a warrior to turn your left foot and your right foot out and check out your alignment. So your right heel is in line with your left inner arch, bend your right knee.

And begin to settle into your your warrior two here. Let's move into warrior dance a few rounds. So we'll inhale press into the ball, the right foot arms reach, exhale warrior two. Two more inhale. Reachale warrior two.

Inhale reach up. XL warrior two pause and we'll reverse inhale reach your right arm up take a moment to pause here. And then exhale side angle pose. Bring your right forearm onto your right thigh, sweep your left arm up, pause here. Yeah. You can rotate through the spine.

Draw the shoulder blade down. Strong through the legs will inhale reverse. See how that feels. Shoot the right arm, exhale side angle, feeling the burning, the strength, and the right hip, and leg. Inhale reverse.

Exhale side angle. Pause. Be one more low and strong in the legs. Inhale reverse. Peaceful warrior. Exhale a side angle pose.

Pause here. Bring your left hand to your hip, turn your gaze down, bring your block right in, and then begin to press into the ball of your right foot as you straighten your right leg for triangle posts. We're entering triangle in a slightly different way. You might keep your left hand on your hip. You might reach your left arm up.

Let me feel how you can root through the back foot as you lengthen through your spine. You can keep a soft bend in your right knee. You might keep your top arm lifting. You might sweep it down forward, and then lengthen it overhead. View breaths here finding a place where your neck feels good.

Press through the feet and how reach with the top arm come all the way up. Hands on the hips will turn the right foot and the left foot out. So the left foot is parallel with your mat. Bend your knees, settle into your warrior two. We'll sweep the arms out and wide for warrior dance palms open. Inhale reach the arms up lengthen exhale left knee bends warrior two. Two more inhale arms left reach.

XL. Beautiful. Last one, inhale arms reach. XL warrior two. We'll reverse. Peaceful warrior in house, sweep your left arm up.

Keep the length as you move into your side angle, left forearm onto your left thigh. You might sweep your right arm overhead. Stay low and strong in your legs, inhale, peaceful, lift, exhale, side angle. Inhale, peaceful, lift the left arm, keep the left knee bent, exhale, side angle. Maybe one more round in how reach. I feel the burning in my left leg, exhale, triangle pose will pause here.

You might bring your right hand to your hip, turn the gaze down, bring your block in, bring your hands to the block. And then press into the ball of the left foot as you extend your leg for triangle pose. And again, maybe there's a soft bend through the back of the knee. Maybe reach your top arm up and feel how you can root and lengthen and breathe. You might sweep your top arm down forward and overhead as you begin to revolve your ribcage and heart towards the sky.

Breathing. Find some ease in your neck. Reach with the top arm, strong legs, inhale come back. Got hands on the hips. Turn the toes forward, and then just heel toe the feet.

So working that internal, external rotation, pause for a moment, kinda integrate, find a centering breath. Exale. Beautiful. We'll work with our two blocks out in front. You can bring your two blocks out in front. We'll step our feet wide again. Feed parallel or slightly forward.

And let's take a moment to reach our arms out. So feel the strength through your legs, the length in your spine, feel you can reach through the fingers. Bring your hands to your hips, inhale lengthen your spine's strong legs. Exhale, fold hinge at your hips. Hands to the blocks underneath the shoulders, inhale lengthen your spine.

And then exhale from here. You might turn your toes out a little bit heels in, and then bend your right knee, shift your hips to the right. Your blocks might follow. Bend your left knee shift your hips to the left. Gandasana side to side here.

Waking up the inner leg lines, the hamstrings, just finding what feels right for you. The blocks can travel with you if they're useful. You might play with lowering or bringing them up a little higher. You more round side to side. Coming back to center, inhale lengthen, and then exhale, maybe a gentle forward fold as you bring the hands down.

To heal the feet a little closer, hands on the hips strong legs, inhale come all the way up with a flat back. Pause. And then he'll toe the feet back again. We'll pause in tadasana mountain pose. And it's santering brass.

Beautiful playing with tree posts, and bring your blocks off to the side. And just play with pouring your weight into your right foot. And then pouring your weight into your left foot. We'll do that a little bit side to side. Pouring your weight, your awareness from one foot, into the other.

Nice. Eventually pour your weight into your right foot, spread your toes. Affirm that right hip and then open your left hip. You might press the heel towards the inner ankle. You might stay right here. You might bring the foot up the leg.

I knew what feels right for you in this moment. You might bring hands together at the heart. You might reach your arms up towards the sky. Allowing the shape to be dynamic as we ease into balance. Notice the quality of your breath, the quality of your gaze, bring the hands together at the heart, inhale, and then slow in your own timing, exhale sail release.

You might shake it out. You might make some circles with your hips. I need to bring my hands on the hips and then circle in the other direction. Just relaxing some of that effort. And then pouring your weight into your left foot, let the bottom of your foot open, firming the left hip as you open your right hip, feeling that external rotation.

He'll might press towards the inner ankle or move up the calf, bringing the hands together at the heart, centering, Again, notice the quality of your gaze and breath. Hence might stay where they are. You might reach the arms up. Leave feeling the essence of your mountain pose on one leg, allowing for any sway, any movement? I think this feel both grounded and fluid.

Hand center back at the heart. Inhale And as you're ready, gracefully exhale release. And, again, maybe some hip circles would feel nice after that or shaking it out. From here, join me at the top of your mat. We'll find a sun salutation towards the earth.

Hands together at the heart. We'll inhale arms reach up. Exhale, soft, bend through your knees, forward fold, releasing your head and your arms. Inhale half arch length in your spine. Exhale as you bend your knees, ground your hands, and just sit back until you arrive in your downward dog.

Take a moment to pause here in our last downward dog of the practice, feeling the length in your spine long through the neck. And then lowering the knees, you might soften your hips back towards the heels for a moment in child's pose, pausing. And then your own time will meet on our back in preparation for bridge. Once you arrive, spreading your toes, you might have a block nearby. Spread the toes arms down alongside the body.

We'll inhale together, exhale, sail, draw the tailbone under and not press through your feet, lift your hips. For balancing the hips here, strengthening the hips in the pelvic floor. If you'd like, you might roll and tuck your shoulders under your back. Reaching for your fingers or maybe interlacing long through the neck, opening up through the front of the hips. Feel how in this shape, you can really hug the muscles into the bones of your legs.

You feeling the the structural support, the foundational support of your bones. As you release, you might come high up onto the balls of your feet, lift your heels, reach your arms up to the sky, Stay round in your upper back as you roll down through your spine, upper back, middle back, low back, sacrum arms release pause and notice, palms might open. Clearing breath. For this second round, you might choose to find a supported bridge variation, bringing your block underneath your sacrum, press through your feet, lift your hips, maybe slide the block. Be at the lowest setting underneath your sacrum.

Lower two thirds of the sacrum, reset the shoulders, and just allow if you're in supported bridge, allow the weight of your pelvis to drop into the block. Relaxing some of the effort through the outer hips and the glutes, still maintaining that awareness through your legs. You more moments allowing yourself to receive the support and rest You are welcome to stay where you are longer. As you feel ready, press through your feet, lift your pelvis up, just slide the block out from underneath you. As you lower back down, you might bring a blanket under your head as we move into a figure four pattern here.

As you're ready, draw your right knee into your chest, and extend your right leg up towards the sky. Find that external rotation. So turn the thigh bone out, bend the knee. And then bring your right ankle over your left thigh, opening up through your hips, stretch your arms out wide, and then just begin to rock from side to side, rocking on to the inner outer edge of your left foot. And just exploring your range of movement, that feels good for your body, that feels good for your spine, lower back, and massaging out through the glutes and the sacrum area. You might find your right knee falls towards the floor, your right foot sweeps across and falls towards the floor, finding a nice spinal twist. Few more moments side to side.

You might choose to pause on one side or the other, breathing into where you feel the stretch. Eventually, you might rock the whole shape over to your left. Reaching out for your right arm, breathing, exhale softening the face and the jaw. You might stay here a bit longer. You might rock back to center.

If and as you wanna feel more sensation, your right hip, draw your left thigh into your chest. You might rock from side to side as you flex your right ankle. You might weave your right arm through the window as you find the back of the leg or top of the knee interlacing your fingers. Well, you can soften your shoulders down. Now if you find your head is dropping way back and there's straining your neck, you might bring a block or a second blanket under your head for support. Allow for an inhale.

Nice full exhale. When you feel ready, slow release, the hand ground through your left foot for your right leg up and just point and flex the foot, circle out through your ankle, and then bend your right knee ground the foot. We'll draw the last knee into the chest. Stretch the left leg up and then find that external rotation, turn the foot out, bend the knee, bring the ankle across, open through your hip. As the arms stretch out, you might rock from side to side.

Rocking on to the inner outer edges of the foot. You might rock the head away from the legs. Again, this side might feel different. Depending on your low back and your hips, your knees. Might rock the foot towards the earth, or maybe the knee falls towards the floor.

Might take a moment to pause, rock the whole shape over to your right, reaching out for your left arm, inhale, exhale softening. And you might stay here a bit longer. For inhaled back to center flexing your left ankle, maybe drawing that right leg and towards the chest rocking from side to side. You might weave your left arm through the window, finding the back of the right thigh or shin with the fingers. Little side to side rocking can feel really nice for the spine.

Nice for the nervous system. Yeah. Notice the quality of your breath. Breathing into where you feel the stretch. The exhale softening, releasing, letting go. And in your own time, release the hands, ground the right foot, maybe free the left leg up, point and flex the foot, and then let that foot come back down.

Let's draw both knees into our chest and rock from side to side here. I'm just allowing for any final movement that would feel good as we transition into Shavasana. You might ground the feet and find constructive rest, bringing the feet wide, wider than the hips, letting the knees rest together. If you'd like to find a baddha konasana, you might bring the soles of the feet together, knees wide hands on the belly. You just simply stretch the legs long on the floor, finding your shape as you breathe in, exhale softening, releasing, letting go.

Being yourself the time and space to stay and rest. Whereas you feel ready, just slowly mindfully rolling to your side. Easing your way up, finding a comfortable shape, any with support. Just resting in the space you've created through your body, through your hips. Joining the hands together, sharing the sound of ohm, breathing in.

Namaste. Thank you so much.